Marketing with Promotional Products in 2015

19th December 2014

As the year draws to a close and you start to wind down for the holidays, it’s a good time to take stock of what has worked well for you this year and where you want to be in 2015. Businesses often use this time to think about their marketing strategy for the year ahead.

To help with your planning we have put together a useful framework of things to consider when organising your promotional products for 2015.

Your Current Position

Now is a good time to review your marketing for the past year. What has worked well for you? Could anything be improved? For successful campaigns work out exactly what went well and why. Could this be repeated in future campaigns? Use this as a starting point.

Aims and Objectives

Set out your objectives for the year ahead. What is it that you’re looking to achieve? Many businesses use the SMART acronym when setting out their objectives.

Specific – The more specific your objectives are the better. So rather than stating ‘I want to make more money’ think ‘I want to increase profits in x area by 3% by the end of the year.

Measurable – When setting objectives it is important to work out how to measure success. Monitor carefully and make changes where needed.

Achievable – This sounds obvious but a lot of people get caught out here. Make sure that what you’re suggesting is achievable. Do your research.

Realistic – You need to ensure that your objectives are realistic. i.e. that what you’re suggesting can be completed, using the suggested resources and in the allotted timeframe.

Timed – Set a timeframe for your objectives. This will help with planning, implementation, budget and monitoring.

Are your objectives smart?

Target Market

With any marketing campaign it is imperative to have a good understanding of your target market. This article has some great advice on identifying your audience, working out what they need and why they should buy from / work with you.

Purpose

For each campaign / cause you need to identify what it is you’re trying to achieve. For example, is this to raise money, to further brand awareness or increase customer retention etc.? This, along with your customer profiles will help you to identify which promotional products will work best for you.

Trends

It’s good to be aware of the latest trends and have an idea of what may be popular in the future. You can then decide whether to capitalise on this or whether to buck the trend and do something completely different.

The following websites provide useful information on trends and predictions for 2015:

Unfortunately there is no magic formula to setting a marketing budget. How much money you spend will depend on a number of factors including the size of your business, the size of your market, competition and your objectives. The following articles provide useful advice and templates to help you plan this area of your marketing.

Don’t forget to factor time (your time and staff time) into your budget.

Measuring

With any campaign it is important to work out how you will measure success. For each of your objectives work out how you are going to achieve them and how you can measure success. Review and revise regularly.

Lancaster Printing has years of experience in this area and can help with all aspects of your promotional printing campaigns. For further details contact our sales team on 01524 230300 or at sales@lancasterprinting.co.uk.